The new project finds ways to reduce environmental and social hazards of mining, one of the most rapidly growing economic sectors in Central Asia.
The national economies of the Central Asian countries are much based on minerals production and processing, and 30–50% of the national gross domestic products consist of exports of various minerals.
“However, many local communities are very critical of new and old mining activities. In particular, risks of environmental and social hazards from mining activities are of concern”, says Pasi Rinne, Chairman of the Board of Gaia.
Gaia’s new research project National Regulation and Corporate Social Responsibility in Mining in Central Asia focuses on the legislative frameworks and policy-making as well as on the corporate social responsibility and environmental management of mining corporations. It analyses accountability, transparency and responsibility in mining. The priority countries of the research are Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
The project aims to highlight the magnitude of possibilities for reducing tension and risk of conflict through public–private cooperation and to strengthen the body of knowledge on regulation and corporate policies. It provides critically important information on many current efforts addressing environmental and security concerns in Central Asia. The project also supports on-going governmental processes aiming to develop sustainable policies and practices for the management and extraction of natural resources.
This project continues Gaia’s work in the field of sustainable mining in Central Asia, preceded by the Environmental Security, Mining and Good Governance project which is being conducted in cooperation with the University of Eastern Finland and Zoi Environment Network The new project is funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and implemented together with the University of Eastern Finland.
For further information:
Pasi Rinne, Chairman of the Board, Gaia Group, tel. + 41 79 472 6909, firstname.lastname@gaia.fi
